Ayer selectman upset colleague said he wanted to 'murder' her

By Mary E. Arata, marata@nashobapub.com

Updated:
11/29/2012 06:52:02 AM EST

AYER -- A selectman who told the town administrator he wanted to "murder" someone and "had a list" says he meant nothing by it, while a fellow board member says she considers those words a legitimate threat.

The dispute between Selectmen Christopher Hillman and Pauline Conley spilled into the public realm at the selectmen's meeting Tuesday night during discussion of board policy on chain of command.

Conley said she had overheard yelling inside Town Administrator Robert Pontbriand's office on the evening of Nov. 2. Conley said she saw Hillman emerge, followed by Pontbriand. That evening, Pontbriand informed Conley that an "agitated" Hillman entered his office and said that he wanted to "murder" someone and that "he had a list."

Hillman acknowledged after Tuesday's meeting that he used the word "murder."

"I say it all the time," he explained. "I said it today."

He added that he means it as a figure of speech.

Later on Nov. 2, Hillman sent selectmen an email stating that an "evil" selectman was working to "derail" a benefit for a local cause. Hillman wrote, "I think if I were that person I would lay low for a while for safety sake."

Hillman's email, obtained by Nashoba Publishing, a group of weekly newspapers owned by the same company that owns The Sun, continued, "You should be ashamed of yourself, and I have to ask -- do you have a soul, or is it more like a big empty void that you feed by trying to make others look bad?"

Conley confirmed that Pontbriand told her he'd spoken to each selectman and the chief of police after Hillman's "murder" statement.

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"Now I don't want to hear that from any member of this board again," Conley told colleagues.

Conley said she would not file a formal complaint, because under the Open Meeting Law, any disciplinary inquiry can be held in private.

Further, Conley said Selectmen Chairman James Fay tried to keep her from bringing up the issue in public. Conley asked for the issue to be put on Tuesday's agenda. Instead, Fay suggested changes to the board's procedures, including how to handle email communications and the board/administrator chain of command.

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